Misery
by CascadeAngel
Summary: Ciel Phantomhive is a succesful business man, taking over the toy industry with his Funtom franchise.  But what can he do when he's held hostage by his "number one fan"?  Play along: but in this game the stakes are much higher than any others.
1. Chapter 1

The carriage flew along the dirt road, heaving disconcertingly from side to side and nearly colliding with trees more often than not. The boy driving it didn't feel frightened, not at all. He'd seen Sebastian drive the carriages all the time and he made it look so…so easy. Something cold fluttered onto the boy's nose and he glanced upwards to see dark storm clouds, heavily laden with snow, drifting ominously overhead. It didn't matter; it would probably pass by anyway. Within a few minutes the snow was falling quickly and heavily. Blinded, the boy couldn't see the sharp turn and the carriage crashed into a ditch.

:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:

There was darkness, an endless darkness, interrupted by occasional noises. He couldn't tell what they were, but it didn't matter, not really. He also noticed something else: the pain. It came in waves, and as consciousness grew nearer he noticed it came in timed intervals. The pain and then nothingness. The cycle was interrupted by the breath being forced down his throat. It was hot and disgusting and it reeked of things that probably hadn't been eaten in weeks. The breath raped his mouth and lungs, filling him with the horrid air. _'Breathe, dammit, breathe!' "I will," he thought, "Just please stop…."_ The mouth parted from his and a strangled breath rattled into his throat. The assault stopped and he faded into darkness again.

He forced his eyes open. The light of the room burned his eyes as he gazed at his surroundings. Dull white walls with the occasional painting hanging here and there, a single window with the curtain wide open: providing that blinding light, and a nightstand right next to him with a shaded lamp sitting on top. He looked down the length of the bed and saw two almost grotesque looking lumps where his legs should be. Swallowing roughly he pulled aside the bed covers and looked at his legs.

His stomach gave an uneasy jolt. His legs were crushed lumps bound roughly together by splints made of bent crutches. His left knee was nearly non-existent and his shins were sticking out at weird angles. Fighting nausea he closed his eyes and pulled the blankets back so they were covering his legs again. The door creaked open and a blonde boy came bouncing through the door.

He smiled exuberantly, "Ooh Ciel, you're awake!" Ciel gazed at him with unfocused eyes, "Who….who are you?" The blonde walked over to the bedside and set down the medicine bottle he was holding. "It's alright Ciel," he whispered, "Everything's going to be alright. I'm Alois Trancy, Ciel, I'm your biggest fan!"


	2. Chapter 2

Ciel drifted in and out several more times before finally coming to completely. When he did it was to find the boy, Alois Trancy, bustling about the room, cleaning the already pristine surfaces. Through the haze that seemed to be fogging his mind he realized the boy didn't seem to be much older than himself, maybe only his senior by a year or two. He wore a bright purple frock coat with a large black bow tied neatly around his neck and black shorts that were, well, short. Ciel couldn't see what type of shirt Alois was wearing due to the fact that the blonde's back was turned. But there was something about Alois Trancy that Ciel couldn't quite put his finger on, some trait that seemed to ooze from him no matter what he did. But he didn't really have much time to ponder as right then Alois turned around.

"CIEL, YOU'RE AWAKE!" the boy cried, glee flowing through in every syllable.

"WH-Where am I?" he asked, still somewhat dazed and slightly startled by the unexpectedly loud outburst.

"Oh, outside London."

Ciel rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head, "How far outside of London, about?"

"A ways." Ciel looked up to see a darkness hover over the blonde's eyes. It was a terrifying sort of darkness, as if the boy had lost all tethers to the world. It only lasted for a second before Alois was back to normal again. His eyes glimmered with that same sort of glee from before when he spoke again, "You know, when I first found you I could hardly believe my eyes. I mean I'd never expected to find _Ciel Phantomhive _out here. But y'know once I saw you had that famous pretty blue ring on your finger I knew it had to be! I mean, there's only one like it in the world, I've heard you told that to a press reporter once when you were debuting a new product for Funtom! Oh and you know I love all of your Funtom products! I've bought all of them, even some of the girlier toys, because I think they're all just so amazing and cute. I only wish you'd come out with more because I love them all so much!"

Ciel listened only half-heartedly as Alois rambled off all the things he loved about Funtom before he cut him off, "Alois, speaking of the Phantomhive ring, where is it?"

"Oh I've kept it nice and safe for you Ciel, why, did you think I would steal form you?" Trancy darkened again, his bright smile turning into a crevasse from which a sort of malevolence seemed to pour.

"No, no, not at all!" Ciel stated, trying in vain to collect his thoughts. He felt that whatever he said would be the only thing between him and some sort of grisly fate that he was trying his hardest not to imagine. "It's just that…that my father always told me to keep an eye on it because it's so precious and, like you said, there's no other like it." This was an utter lie, seeing as his father had hated the thing with a passion. The ring had witnessed the death of many a Phantomhive head and only brought cruel memories. But it was an easy lie, and he was surprised at how naturally it had come, and most of all at how believable it had sounded. "I guess he just…was so adamant about it that it's stuck with me, I meant no offense…"

He watched as Alois relaxed and his smile became genuine once more. The crevasse closed, much to his relief. "Of course," the blonde said, "I couldn't stay mad at you, Ciel-kun, and don't worry, the ring's perfectly safe! Oh wait, I've got something else for you!" He turned and pranced out the door, letting it swing shut behind him with a neat click.

And as Ciel sat alone in his room, only awaiting the blonde to return, he was able to name the trait that Alois radiated. Insanity. Alois Trancy was absolutely, not to mention dangerously, insane.


	3. Chapter 3

Alois pranced back in with a bowl of steaming soup. It seemed disgusting and Ciel wondered if the boy had made it himself. He doubted he would eat much, but ate more than he thought possible. While he did Alois told him about his predicament and as the blonde spoke he remembered his side of it.

"I was just going into London to see if you'd let out your new product yet. See, I was even THINKING of you, that's why it's so amazing! But when I got there there were no new Funtom products and the man at the store said that there was gonna be a hell of a storm and I should best stay in town. 'It's not safe to ride in that kind of weather,' he said."

Ciel nodded, "Yes. I'd heard that. They thought it was passing but…it wasn't." He tried to adjust himself to get a better look at Alois and ended up moving his legs. He winced.

Alois glared at him, "Stop it Ciel. If you hurt yourself I won't be able to help you, and where would that put both of us? I'm not even sure if I'm giving you the right amount of medicine…"

_Then why not get a physician? Or just take me to a hospital? _But Ciel didn't dare to ask these questions aloud, not after seeing Alois's nature.

"But I told him I HAD to get back; I had nowhere else to stay. I don't have any relatives and no one in OR out of town really likes me." He darkened for a second but snapped back quickly this time. Glancing at the half-empty bowl in Ciel's lap he asked, "Done?"

"Yes. Thank you." Alois took the bowl from the bed-ridden boy. "So, you're all alone out here?" Ciel ventured. It was unlikely that he lived alone, he seemed so high maintenance, but then again there were many 'unlikely' things that were true about Alois Trancy. The fact that he was holding Ciel Phantomhive hostage in some back bedroom was one of them.

"Yep!" The blonde replied. "But anyways, I got maybe about five miles before it started snowing. Another mile before it was practically a blizzard. After all, storms around here come hard and fast. I was going along at a pretty good clip, myself, but I still doubted if I would make it. I could see the marks from your carriage through the snow, Ciel; you must have been going even faster than I was." He looked at Ciel disapprovingly.

"Well it…it was my first time actually driving a carriage. I had no idea how fast to go. And plus, the snow caught me by surprise." He responded defensively. He didn't add that he'd been leaving a meeting so high on joy that he never even gave a second thought to the weather or the fact that he couldn't manipulate a carriage.

"Well when I came upon the wreckage I stopped. It was at a flat part of road and it hadn't snowed too much there yet. Maybe if it had I wouldn't have stopped. Who knows? But lucky for you Ciel, I did. I leapt out of my carriage and I heard groaning. That was _you_, Ciel." Alois smiled an oddly maternal grin.

_Oh that CANNOT be good. _It was pretty much the first thought that was entirely clear in Ciel's mind. He remembered exactly WHY he had been going so fast: he had finally done it; he had ditched the Funtom Corporation. It had been his master plan for a few years, the work was tedious and what he got form it was just not worth it. So he'd sold it, given then entire brand over to some big-wig and split. He'd been crying as he rode away in the carriage, tears of joy streamed his face until the snow starting coming down heavy. He thought about signing the agreement and he already had ideas in mind for other businesses to go into: everything and anything except for sweets and toys. _'Such childish things could only entertain one for so long'_, he had thought.

"You were banged up pretty good and there were little blood splatters. You had a few cuts and bruises but I could tell it was all in the legs, Ciel, they were just so…so…"

Free. He'd never felt so free. He had no more responsibility, no more pitiful men begging for donations or a job or any number of things. Ciel intended to go straight to Sebastian. He hadn't told his faithful butler of his plans. Actually he had told no one where he was going; he wanted to see the shock on their faces when they found out what had become of the Funtom line. As he flew along he thought of Lizzy, wondering about her reaction, and suddenly decided-

"-that I just HAD to take you with me! I mean, I couldn't leave you stranded there! It was a bit of a struggle to pull you out of the wreckage but I'm actually a lot stronger than I look and I managed. But when you were fully out I couldn't believe my eyes! I mean, it was bizarre but maybe, just maybe-"

He would tell no one at all. He thought to go straight to Sebastian, then changed his mind and wanted to go to Lizzy but finally he realized that a sudden vacation wouldn't hurt. He had money and he'd packed a bag with clothes (in case he was stuck in London for a few days). So, maybe, just maybe, he could be truly free. It seemed crazy but why not? Just him and his-

"-this bag that I found. I heaved you in, wrapping you up nice and cozy in all the blankets I had. I was really afraid you would die on me and no, no, no, I couldn't have that! So I hopped in and threw your-"

New business plans. Written so formally on nice crisp paper, nothing less would be expected of the Earl Phantomhive. He had several ideas and he planned to try them out, one by one, and see what worked. He planned his first venture into the food industry: this time real food, not just candies or curry buns, but something more…appealing to everyone. He had everything organized; all he needed was to get workers in place and supplies. So after this little excursion he planned to go-

"-out like a light. I thought you were going to die, oh, I was so afraid, Ciel! But in the dim light I couldn't really tell who you were, I mean, I thought you looked familiar but still! But then I saw the Phantomhive ring and I knew you had to be-"

-in deep trouble when the snow got thick. It was only a few flurries at first and it seemed like it would just pass anyway, but as the minutes passed it started coming quicker and heavier. Maybe the storm wasn't going away, maybe it's going to come and stay right here. But he didn't think of such things, he was practically invulnerable to these things. Then the carriage was losing traction and he tried to stop, tried, but it was in vain. He felt him completely lose control. The reigns snapped and he assumed the horses ran off. There was a dull thump and then the world was spinning. He-

"-screamed so loud, oh Ciel I was so happy! You screaming meant you were alive! I mean…I wasn't happy you were in pain, no, but if you were in pain and you had the energy to scream it meant you would make it! Dying men don't' scream y'know, they just don't have the energy!" The blonde giggled, "Well I got you home and gave you some pain medication. You slept for a while but then you'd wake up screaming so I'd give you some more. We had a couple close calls here and there but that's over now! You're all rested up and I bet you'll be recovering faster than ever!"

Ciel shifted uncomfortably, wincing, "My legs hurt…"

Alois gave him that warm, maternal smile again, "I'm sure they do, Ciel. But in an hour you can have some medication."

"No…n-now." It was as close as Ciel Phantomhive had ever gotten to begging, and even that ashamed him somewhat. That he could be so…helpless at the hands of a maniac!

"In an hour, Ciel." The blonde retorted firmly. He started towards the door, soup bowl and spoon in hand.

"Wait!"

Alois turned around to look at the boy on the bed giving him a look that was somewhere between stern and loving. It was a disgusting look and Ciel never wanted to see it again.

"It's been…two weeks since you, er, _saved _me?"

Alois looked very vague and annoyed. Time wasn't important to Alois Trancy, merely the events that took place, "Uh, yeah. Something like that."

"And I was unconscious most of the time?" Ciel began uncertainly.

"Yes, Ciel."

"Then…what did I eat?"

Alois looked him over for a moment before smiling a frozen smile, "I fed you intravenously Ciel, that's what all the marks on your arms are from!" Then the smile disappeared from the blonde's face as his eyes went dark and flat, "You owe me your life. You know that, Ciel? I think you should remember that. You own me your life…"

He left the room.


End file.
